Music & Movement

This section includes:

– More information about the musical concepts included in each song

Movements that go along with the music

– Instructions for how to tap and clap along to the music

The Boy with the Truck

Musical Concepts:

Meter: 4/4 (duple meter. You’ll feel groups of 2)

Interval: minor 3rd

Tempo: slower – swaying slowly with the grass

Dynamics: quieter – hiding in the grass

Imaginative Movement:

Crouch and get low, arms in the air and sway back and forth, pretending to be grass

How to Tap and Clap: 

Go slowly. Keep all the numbers the same space apart, steady and constant.

Words in bold CAPS are strongly stressed. Tap your hands on your lap.

Italicized bold words are slightly stressed. Clap your hands.

Words and syllables that are underlined go twice as fast in order to fit into one space.

A dot “•” signifies a space that has no words in it (a rest).

“The Boy with the Truck” uses this tap/ clap pattern:

(slow) TAPClapTAPClap

ONE and two and THREE and four and ONE and two and THREE and four and 

You’ll notice that this example starts right before beat ONE:

Ex: There  ONCE  was a  boy  who was  PLAY-ing  with a  truck  on a  BIG  green grass-y  PLAIN • (clap)

The Octopus Boys

Musical Concepts:

Meter: 6/8 (triple meter. You’ll feel groups of 3)

Interval: minor 3rd

Tempo: slower – swimming through the waves

Dynamics: louder – loud voices of doom to be heard over the waves

Imaginative Movement:

Wave your arms up and down opposite each other, like tentacles, and pretend to swim away like an octopus

How to Tap and Clap:

Go slowly. Keep all the numbers the same space apart, steady and constant.

Words in bold CAPS are strongly stressed. Tap your hands on your lap.

Italicized bold words are slightly stressed. Clap your hands.

A dot “•” signifies a space that has no words in it (a rest).

“The Octopus Boys” uses this tap/ clap pattern:

(slow) TAPClapTAPClap.

ONE two three four five six ONE two three four five six

Ex: MAX-well and Sam • pushed OFF from the land • they WANT-ed to sail • the O-cean • (clap) • 

The Dragon

Musical Concepts:

Meter: 7/8 (this is an odd meter. You might feel it as 2+2+3, or 1,2,1,2,1,2,3) The chorus is in 4/4.

Interval: minor 3rd

Tempo: faster – flying away so quickly as to make a gust of wind (gale)

Dynamics: louder – shouting to the monster from afar

Imaginative Movement:

Flap arms up and down like wings and pretend to fly away like the dragon

How to Tap and Clap:

Go slowly. Keep all the numbers the same space apart, steady and constant.

Words in bold CAPS are strongly stressed. Tap your hands on your lap.

Italicized bold words are slightly stressed. Clap your hands.

A dot “•” signifies a space that has no words in it (a rest).

“The Dragon” uses this tap/ clap pattern:

(fast) TAP TAP clap.  TAP TAP clap.

(I use “sev.” instead of “seven” because it’s one syllable.)

ONE two THREE four five six sev. ONE two THREE four five six sev.

Ex: SPAR-kle PRIN-cess Jade and sir JO-seph LEV-ings-worth • • HAD a SCA-ly dra-gon that FLEW a-BOVE the earth •